ABSTRACT‘Political demonology’ combines the ideas of Zhao Tingyang, Xiang Shuchen, and Barend Ter Haar. Zhao’s idea of ‘new tianxia’ has been widely discussed for about twenty years. Zhao explores the ‘political theology’ of the Zhou dynasty to formulate a vision of world-building that does not exclude anybody. Xiang, elaborating on the philosophical dimension of tianxia, describes ‘Chinese processual holism’ as a way of thinking that allows even the ghosts to become human. Contrary to Zhao and Xiang, who understand tianxia (...) on the basis of Confucian normative texts, Ter Haar explores the facet of tianxia presented by the popular culture revolving around demons and exorcism. This article brings together the contributions of these authors as well as their critique in order to present the concept of political demonology as a way of understanding tianxia without sugar-coating on the one hand and demonization on the other hand. (shrink)

The present study aims to explore one of the relatively under-researched aspects of Michael Psellus’ philosophical legacy, namely, his demonological treatises. Although extremely brief, these texts establish a new paradigm that shapes the Byzantine intellectual elite’s approach to ancient heritage, contemporary folklore, and the vernacular literature of preceding centuries. Our first task in achieving this goal will be to outline the main characteristics of the sociocultural context in which Psellus formed his philosophical worldview. As comparative analysis shows, by the eleventh (...) century, a consolidated demonological system was already taking shape based on official Christian dogma and selectively chosen images from ancient literature. The second task will determine the method by which Psellus constructs his demonology. As we shall see, he withholds his sources and intentionally bases his highly selective notes on the subject primarily on a few late antique authors within the Neoplatonic tradition. (shrink)

Through weaving the intimate stories of an encounter, possibilities of shared but not unified forms of resistance against powers of identification between life, art, science and philosophy will hopefully emerge. In the time of exhaustion of narratives, there is a growing need of telling stories despite capture – stories that would escape control and commodification, that would induce change, reenchant and give caring conditions for multiple human and nonhuman bodies. It is thus not about fetishization of an individual who tells, (...) who reassures the value and importance of the subject. Rather, it is about stories that, as Isabelle Stengers argues, call for the transformation of an individual story based on given norms and ideas into demonological because collective dynamic and experimental imaginings. But how to think with demonological relations of transformations together without the constrains of morals and given models that tend to govern and exclude what disagrees? The present article, focuses on a particular re-enchantment through the stories of vegetariat – the contemporary matters of resistance through the plants’ resilience inspired-by and becoming-with the work of Špela Petrič and our field-mothers. (shrink)

Denounced by neighbors and scrutinized by demonologists, the early modern French witch also confessed, self-identified as a witch and as the author of horrific deeds. What led her to this point? Despair, solitude, perhaps even physical pain, but most decisively, demonology's two-pronged prosecutorial and truth-seeking confessional apparatus. This book examines the systematic and well-oiled machinery that served to extract, interpret, and disseminate witches' confessions in early modern France. For the demonologist, confession was the only way to find out the (...) truth about the clandestine activities of witches. For the witch, however, trial confessions opened new horizons of selfhood. In this book, Virginia Krause unravels the threads that wove together the demonologist's will to know and the witch's subjectivity. By examining textual and visual evidence, Krause shows how confession not only generated demonological theory but also brought forth a specific kind of self, which we now recognize as the modern subject. (shrink)

In this chapter I explore the possibility and prospects of what I’m calling reformed demonology, an extension of a reformed epistemology that includes belief in the Devil. I begin by characterizing reformed epistemology as denying the necessity of propositional evidence—via argument—for the positive epistemic status of a religious belief. I then turn to the influential reformed approaches of Alvin Plantinga and William Alston, seeing whether or not one can developed their Reformed approaches to beliefs about God to beliefs about (...) the Devil. For Plantinga, this question amounts to whether or not God could/would have created us with a faculty designed to produce beliefs about the Devil immediately. For Alston, this question becomes one as to whether one lives in a community such that direct (quasi)perceptual experience of the Devil is made possible. In each case, I suggest that we find neither a ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ answer: Plantinga’s epistemology hinges on what sort of aims God would have in creating us and Alston’s on what sort of epistemic communities there are as well as in which one finds oneself. So, on either view, a Reformed Demonology is possible. (shrink)

In contradistinction to the many monographs and edited volumes devoted to historical, cultural, or theological treatments of demonology, this collection features newly written papers by philosophers and other scholars engaged specifically in philosophical argument, debate, and dialogue involving ideas and topics in demonology. The contributors to the volume approach the subject from the perspective of the broadest areas of Western philosophy, namely metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and moral philosophy. The collection also features a plurality of religious, cultural, and theological (...) views on the nature of demons from both Eastern and Western thought, in addition to views that may diverge from these traditional roots. _Philosophical Approaches to Demonology_ will be of interest to philosophers of religion, theologians, and scholars working in philosophical theology and demonology, as well as historians, cultural anthropologists, and sociologists interested more broadly in the concept of demons. (shrink)

This paper critically discusses a tradition in philosophy of science—here called ‘scientific demonology’—that, going back to Laplace, considers what science would be like if it were performed by a supernatural omniscient creature instead of being performed by puny humans. This tradition has been much discussed, and criticized, especially with respect to its commitment to determinism. Setting this aside, this paper argues that the proposed philosophical methodology is fundamentally deficient for other reasons having to do with the foundations of mathematics (...) and the nature of knowledge. Even when there are determinate facts about objects representing states of dynamical systems and determinate functions from states to states, such facts are in most cases not representable, and as a result cannot be meaningfully said to be known, even by an all-knowing demon. The lesson to be drawn is that, far from improving on the classical philosophy of science methodology consisting in drawing lessons about the nature, scope, and limits of science by examining the best human science, speculations about demonic science obfuscate scientific epistemology. (shrink)

In contradistinction to the many monographs and edited volumes devoted to historical, cultural, or theological treatments of demonology, this collection features newly written papers by philosophers and other scholars engaged specifically in philosophical argument, debate, and dialogue involving ideas and topics in demonology. The contributors to the volume approach the subject from the perspective of the broadest areas of Western philosophy, namely metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and moral philosophy. The collection also features a plurality of religious, cultural, and theological (...) views on the nature of demons from both Eastern and Western thought, in addition to views that may diverge from these traditional roots. _Philosophical Approaches to Demonology_ will be of interest to philosophers of religion, theologians, and scholars working in philosophical theology and demonology, as well as historians, cultural anthropologists, and sociologists interested more broadly in the concept of demons. (shrink)

This chapter describes Porphyry’s demonology, focusing specifically on the nature of the demonic body and Porphyry’s reliance upon it within his account in order to highlight certain difficulties in the demonology of Iamblichus, which, although denying the materiality of demons, nevertheless has to account for the very things that demonic bodies were understood to address. Through an examination of Porphyry’s demonology and his explanation of the classification of demons and their nature, this paper will raise questions needing (...) to be answered within Iamblichean demonology. In fact, these questions are more important for Iamblichus than they are for Porphyry; given the state of the entirely descended Iamblichean soul and its need for material forms and avenues of mediation and purification, the function of demons is more essential for Iamblichus than it is for Porphyry. We cannot speak of ‘demons’ in Iamblichus without qualification, or without at least making the distinction between the good and the evil, recognizing that whatever one says about the former, the same might not apply to the latter. (shrink)

The paper focuses on the linguistic aspect of demonology in «Leviathan» by Thomas Hobbes. Firstly, demonology is considered as a danger to political stability in «Leviathan». Secondly, the main points of the philosophy of language and the place of metaphor in Hobbes’ political philosophy are presented. Thirdly, through Hobbes’ understanding of metaphor, ways of neutralizing demonological prejudice in «Leviathan» and the sovereign’s monopoly right to use metaphors are discussed.

The future state of the redeemed human being in heaven is difficult, if not impossible, to pin down in this life. Nevertheless, Augustine and Anselm speculate on the heavenly life of the human being, proceeding from certain theological premises gathered from Scripture, and their arguments often both mirror and complement one another. Because Anselm and Augustine hold the premise that human beings in heaven are “equal to the angels” (Luke 20:36), our understanding of the heavenly condition of the human can (...) be illuminated by angelology, and vice-versa; each reveals the nature of the other. The paper examines aspects of the positions of Augustine and Anselm on the original state of the angels, their fall, and their confirmation, and then explores the condition of prelapsarian Adam and the transformation of the elect in order to illuminate how these figures conceive the afterlife. The angelologies (and demonologies) of Augustine and Anselm help one to understand the heavenly goal of human life, how the redeemed state of human beings differs from their original condition in Eden, and why there is no redemption for the fallen angels. (shrink)

There is a tension in Porphyry’s writings concerning his attitude towards sorcery in general and the invocation of demons in particular. In his De Abstinentia, which contains his most extended surviving demonology, Porphyry distinguishes between good and evil demons and the respective groups of people by whom they are invoked and with whom they are associated. While association with evil demonic entities is condemned by Porphyry, he nevertheless suggests that there is a role for a philosophical treatment of demonic (...) agency. The beneficent demons warn humanity of the impending dangers brought on by the maleficent “so far as they are able … by revelations in dreams, or through an inspired soul, or in many other ways” (De Abs. 2.41.3). The meanings of the signs and revelations granted by the beneficent demons, however, are not explicitly apparent, for “not everyone understands what the signs mean, just as not everyone can read what is written, but only the person who has learned letters” (De Abs. 2.41.4). Porphyry claims that it is partially the role of the philosopher to recognize and interpret these signs and to distinguish them from the lies and deceptions of the evil demons (De Abs. 2.49.2). In the Letter to Anebo, however, Porphyry is much more skeptical about the efficacy of demons (good and evil): the effectiveness of theurgy and sorcery is called into doubt. While Porphyry does claim that certain things can be divined from natural signs, he denies here that divinities or demons are involved in such predictions (Letter to Anebo 25, 28), and he doubts the sorcerous power to bind and control demonic forces. It seems then, that at least the Letter, theurgy and sorcery could be ineffective, and therefore, unnecessary for the salvation of the human soul. Indeed, for Porphyry, for the purification of the soul, theurgy and demonic aid are unnecessary at best, and dangerously counterintuitive at worst. (shrink)

The study of the Dead Sea Scrolls provides particular insight into the demonological material in the Synoptic Gospels, which in turn influenced and continue to influence Christian ideas of possession. This article examines relevant Qumran passages (e.g., 11Q11 and 4Q510-511) and Jewish Pseudepigrapha (e.g., Jubilees, 1 Enoch) in order to improve our understanding of possible origins of more recent beliefs and practices related to demonic affliction. Particular attention is given to the use of authoritative words and powerful names in anti-demonic (...) formulas in antiquity, and their continued use in Christian traditions. Although there are differences and even points of contradiction in ancient and modern ideas of possession, there is also substantial continuity between ancient and modern belief systems, in particular the importance of authoritative names in both ancient and modern contexts. (shrink)

Jamesian pragmatism is distinguished by its broad understanding of “practical” that includes emotional and existential concerns. This pragmatism is subjected to a challenge by skeptics who see harm in what they believe is a general pollution of knowledge caused by taking psychical research seriously. The author presents his own story of vastation and his consequent ambivalence about exploring the subject of demons and unusual mental states.

This edition, providing the only available English language access to Collin de Plancy's long-forgotten Dictionnaire infernal, is directed to the reader who likes the reinforcement of being able to get through a whole book in an hour or so, whizzing through clean pages at incredible speeds. Perhaps the most misleading aspect of this flashy volume is the fact that the publishers never mention that it is abbreviated at all; it contains 177 truncated versions of Collin de Plancy's 2,400 plus entries, (...) which filled in the 1825-1826 edition of four volumes of text and one of plates. Wade Baskin, a master of condensation, does cover a lot of ground in his two and one-half page introduction. This, unfortunately, serves as little but a teaser to the reader interested in more than a mere mention of Collin de Plancy's colorful, success-oriented career, his filiations with spiritual brothers like Nodier, and his influence on other writers of the Romantic period. One can begrudge this sort of holding back with good reason, for Collin de Plancy is a name unfamiliar today even to French scholars. Baskin's translation is, as usual, excellent.—C. M. R. (shrink)

In this article, I set out Suárez's conception of the demon's obstinacy. For Suárez, the demons’ obstinacy is a divine punishment. It is the result of the free and awful choice to turn away from God that the demons have decided to make, the main consequence of which is the loss of the freedom to will and to do the good. Taking up Aquinas’s conception, Suárez considers that the demonic nature is irredeemably corrupt and obstinate in evil. Demons are provided (...) only with a miserable freedom, consisting of the possibility to choose between different evils. Perpetually sinful and eternally constrained to remain so, they are condemned to wretchedness, to complacency in evil, and to the unremitting torments of hell. (shrink)

In contemporary scholarship, Descartes' Demon has been often treated as a thought experiment with no connection to the world and the views of the 17th century. This rather anachronistic take has been challenged, with some attempting to interpret it within a broader historical Christian context (e.g., Scarre 1990). The most recent challenge has come from scholars focusing on Teresa de Ávila's work (Mercer 2016; Forsman 2023), notably her Inner Castle, as it likely had a profound influence on Descartes. Our goal (...) is to show how radically new Descartes' idea of a demon was despite its historical continuity and the apparent influences of monastic literature. We first outline the ontological status of demons and their ways of deception from late Antiquity to Teresa de Ávila and Descartes. Then, we turn to Descartes' Demon and the differences between Descartes' account and traditional ones. While traditional accounts point towards the moral domain (e.g., the ways demons influence humans and the ways we can negate the influence), Descartes' Demon has the purpose of endangering all knowledge. Therefore, Descartes, unlike Teresa de Ávila and other traditional authors, needs a deceiver far more powerful than any demon in the Christian tradition. The attribution of omnipotence to a demon, if only for theoretical purposes, represents a huge break with traditional Christian demonology. Finally, by comparing the Descartes' Demon with the brain-in-a-vat skeptical scenario, we establish two conclusions: (1) the possibility of such a demon represents the most radical form of skepticism, whereas the brain-in-a-vat scenario is less extreme; and (2) these thought experiments demonstrate how underlying metaphysical and theological frameworks shape the formulation of these scenarios and how far they can reach. (shrink)

This chapter explores the conceptions and representations of space in early modern demonology, focusing on the contribution brought by cosmographical knowledge to demonology in the Renaissance. I start by examining the conception of the devil as an inhabitant of the air, free to invade the world of the living: a fundamentally mobile creature, the devil possessed a mastery of the sublunar world that made him akin to cosmographers. I then assess the extent to which demonologists incorporated geographical information (...) into their treatises, and in particular material related to the new worlds discovered overseas. I argue that the publication of Olaus Magnus’s Description of the Northern Peoples (1555) marked a critical moment in the construction of this “cosmography of the devil,” and analyse one of its most striking examples: Le Loyer’s Discours et histoires des spectres (1605). The diabolical world map outlined by demonologists was a dynamic one, across which demons moved according to the flow of history. It expressed an anxiety beyond that of the fear of witchcraft: what is at work here is the idea of Europe being contaminated by the New World. (shrink)

Through a survey of the discussions of the decline of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century witch-craze of Hugh Trevor-Roper, Keith Thomas and Brian Easlea, the role and impact of Balthasar Bekker, a seventeenth-century Dutch Cartesian, is shown to have been under-estimated, and not inconsiderable.

Summary The logical links between the Judaeo-Christian doctrine of creation and the practice of natural philosophy on the one hand, and the rejection of belief in demonic agency on the other, were made explicit in the seventeenth century by, among others, Balthasar Bekker (1634–98), whose ideas I argue to have been not without influence. In section 1, I present the accounts of three historians of the opposition to belief in witchcraft and of the decline of the witch-persecution, Hugh Trevor-Roper, Keith (...) Thomas, and Brian Easlea. In section 2, I maintain that Bekker has been underestimated both by Trevor-Roper and by Easlea. In section 3, I investigate more generally some of the connections between the new natural philosophy and belief in supernatural interventions, cast doubt on the view that rejection of belief in witchcraft and the devil requires rejection of belief in creation, and thus supplement or qualify the accounts of Trevor-Roper, Thomas, and Easlea of why belief in witchcraft faded away. (shrink)

A new edition of a work first published in 1926, in which Fr. Summers recounts the nature and the historical activities of the witch, "devotee of a loathly and obscene creed." One cannot doubt either the author's sincerity or his scholarship, evidenced by thorough documentation and a bibliography of 30 pages. A Forword by Felix Morrow compares the author's position with the more skeptical views of M. A. Murray.--E. T.

Recent scholarship has adduced convincing evidence that, underlying the late medieval and early modern discourse on witchcraft and diabolism, there lay not only popular folkloric and religious beliefs, but also real practical activities by which individuals made manifest their malicious intent toward others, as well as subjective experiences of interaction with supernatural entities, some of which were interpreted as the Christian Devil. This hypothesis raises a number of hermeneutic questions concerning how the social and material conditions predicating concrete acts of (...) maleficium related to practitioners' social psychology and moral self-construction. Through the interpretive frame of Friedrich Nietzsche's antithesis of 'master' and 'slave' moralities, this paper argues that the Christian theological and cultural context of early modern Europe primed individuals to experience the constraints and stresses of everyday life in vividly moralized terms, and to strategically negotiate their own personal advantage by realigning themselves within this moral order. (shrink)

Evil and the fear coming along with it — either the fear to become its victim or its agent — is haunting mankind’s consciousness since the dawn of time. The powerful instinctive rejection that evil causes is only natural, and yet it prevents us from cognizing it and, thus, from building more effective defenses against it. Art sublimes the direct blow of our anxiety by transforming evil into symbolic and metaphorical figures which we can imaginably deal with and even accept (...) them, making them specifically interesting and even attractive. Along with artistic indulgence we strengthen the sense of metaphysical control over evil: Eventually shaping evil as a notion and an aggregative image we confirm to ourselves that we do have the ability to rise to the transcendent height of considering the Being as a Whole (or to the phenomenological essential insight), by doing so putting aside the limitations that conditio humana with its partiality and practical trivia lays upon us. Then again, presenting evil as an aesthetic phenomenon we design the kind of a virtual playground where we model it, counteract it and through this, finally establish our moral intuition on a new proven basis. Why is it so needed and reviving for us to create and use these psychological machines, not to mention the catharsis element they bring us, show some works of a prominent modern author Stephen King, the explorer of the theme of evil in the field of pop-culture. (shrink)

There is no doubt that exorcism of demons is a central feature in the synoptic presentation of the works of the earthly Jesus. This central issue among the synoptic writers is absent in the gospel according to John and in the writings of St Paul. This article argues that a plausible explanation of this absence is that the issue of demonic possession was not important to the communities founded among the Hellenistic Christians of Asia Minor. Instead of presenting the encounters (...) between Jesus and the demons, Paul presents the incorporation into Christ as a definitive victory over the forces of sin and evil. The Christian incorporated “in Christ” has won the battle over the devil. Understanding and implementing this Pauline vision among African Christians is a better missionary approach than the current chasing after demons that characterize contemporary Christianity in Africa. (shrink)